Of Skin and Scales
by messie2624
Summary: Lukas has been missing for two years now. His brother, Emil, and his cousin, Tino, have been looking for him ever since. But their search might lead them to one place their kind has never gone before: land. Mermaid!AU dennor, sufin, and various other pairings.
1. Prologue

_Lukas struggled in the net. He had gotten tangled in a stray fishing net and had washed up on shore. His tail started to dry up and was soon replaced by two human legs. He stared at the foreign objects that replaced his navy tail. _

_'How strange,' he thought. 'What's wrong with me? What's going on?' _

_"Hey!" a voice called out. "You okay, dude?" A man with spikey blond hair and an obnoxious voice approached. He knelt down next to him. He saw that Lukas was tangled in the fishnet. "Here, let me help you." _

_Lukas squirmed, but eventually the stranger managed to untangle him. He saw that Lukas wasn't wearing anything. He blushed before calling out, "Hej, bror! Get over here! And bring a towel!" _

_Another blond man came around the corner. He was tall and had glasses and a permanent glare. He spoke with a weird accent. "Wh't do ya ne'd the tow'l f'r, Mathais?" Then his eyes fell on Lukas and his eyes widened. _

_The spikey-haired stranger, who Lukas guess was Mathias, took the towel from the tall guy. He wrapped the trowel around Lukas. "We need to get him some clothes. Come on up," he brought the young merman to his feet. Mathias smiled at the boy in his arms. "So what's name, cutie?" _

_"It's Lukas," he shivered. _

_"I'm Mathias Køhler and this is my half-brother, Berwald Oxensteirna," he gestured toward the tall guy who grunted and nodded. "Don't worry, Luke, we'll take home with us and get you some food and clothes." _

_"My name's Lukas, not Luke," Lukas grumbled. _

_"But Luke's so much cuter~!" _

_"Mathias, don't har'ss the p'or boy," Berwald grumbled. _

_"Yeah, yeah, whatever Waldy," Mathias winked at his brother. _

_Together the pair led Lukas away, Mathias talking the whole way. Lukas looked back at the ocean. His entire family was back there, his brother, his cousin. Would he ever see them again? He looked up at Mathias. He started to feel funny, like something about him was making him feel this way. He was so confused. In his daze, he allowed the obnoxious man to lead him away. Maybe he would get to go back. One day..._

* * *

**AN: So, prologue is done. Thoughts? And the main story is going to be about Emil and Tino. This is just a flashback to explain what happened to Lukas. Anyway, any feedback is appreciated. **

**Disclaimer: Hetalia does not belong to me. **


	2. Chapter 1

_**TWO YEARS LATER**_

Emil was worried. He was swimming back and forth in the mermaid equivalent of human pacing. No one has heard from his older brother, Lukas in about two years. He had gone missing near the coast of Florida. Emil was trying to figure out where his brother might have gone off to. He would need help. He swam to find his cousin, Tino.

Tino wasn't very hard to find. He was often found talking to a rather nerdy merman named Eduard. However, he wasn't at the moment. He looked like he was sulking alone. Emil swam over.

"What's on your mind, Tino?"

The older merman jumped. "Oh, Emil. I didn't see you there."

Emil shrugged. "Not many people do. Why are you sulking? You are usually very happy."

"I was thinking about your brother. You know the anniversary of his disappearance is coming up soon."

Emil squeezed his eyes shut. "I know. Tino, I've been thinking."

"About?"

"We have to find him."

"Emil, where would we even start?"

Emil thought about this. He knew his brother was interested in human culture, and that he had gone missing off the coast of Crystal Bay. He suddenly had an idea. "Tino, where are Lukas's weird looking scrolls about humans?"

Tino frowned. "Emil, I don't think now is the time to read about humans."

"No! Lukas was trying to learn about them before he disappeared. Maybe he found something!"

Tino's eyes lit up. "Maybe you're right!" They both swam off to Lukas's old room.

* * *

An hour later, Emil was getting extremely frustrated. They had looked through piles of the strange scrolls, and there was entirely nothing useful. He groaned. "This is useless!"

Tino looked over his cousin. "There's got to be something that we can use, surely!"

Emil was about to protest, when a unopened scroll caught his eye. He opened it cautiously. His faced turned to shock. "Tino, you're gonna want to see this."

"Wait is it?"

"We can be human."

"What?!"

"We can grow these weird things when we're dry. Our tails fade into these things called legs."

Tino looked awed. "Wow, really?"

Emil nodded. "Maybe we could find him."

Tino tilted his head. "How so?"

"We grow these leg things and go on land to find him!"

"Are you sure we can do that?" Tino seemed worried.

"If we find Lukas, it'll be worth it."

Tino thought about that for a moment. "You're right, but we would at least ask someone's opinion first."

"Who'd you have in mind?" Emil prayed to Posiedon that he wasn't talking about his parents. He'd be grounded forever if they found out he had even _considered_ going to the surface.

Tino beamed. "Eduard, of course. He's a genius!"

Emil crossed his arms. "I'm sure the man you're betrothed to won't like the idea of you going to the surface."

Tino rolled his eyes. "Oh please, I have no intention of telling him what we're going to do, just if it's possible."

"Fine, if this blows up in our faces, I get to say 'I told you so,'"

* * *

**AN: Well, that's it for this chapter. The first couple chapters will be about Emil and Tino's search for Lukas. The last chapter was what happened to Lukas. A big part of this story is the idea of arranged marriages from birth and that mermaid's idea of love is very different from humans. Oh, and two of the same gender mermaids can produce offspring, but that won't be a big part of the story. Anyway, tell me what you think. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia, I only own this plot.**


	3. Chapter 2

"YOU'RE PLANNING TO DO WHAT!?"

"So much for not telling what we were planning to do," Emil grumbled, his violet tail flicking around irritably.

"Eduard, please understand! Lukas might be on land!" Tino pleaded.

"Forget it, Tino! You could die up there! For all we know, Lukas might be dead!"

"Don't say that!" Emil snapped. He was irritated enough as it was and Eduard was not really helping. He down right refused to let Tino go to the surface. Emil was about ready to punch him in the face, or at least slap him with his tail. "Don't you dare think that he's dead! He has to be alive! The guards told me that they're searching for him! 'We wouldn't stop until we find him,' they said! 'You can't do anything until you're older,' they said! And Mother always kept an eye on me! She practically kept me under lock and key. I couldn't do anything, she wouldn't let me! And she always tried to keep my mind off him. Well, guess what? I'm done with all this crap! As much as I hate this, I need help, you're going to give it to me, or so help me, I'll–" Emil was silenced by Tino's hand clasping over his mouth.

Eduard rubbed at his temples. "Emil, your brother hasn't returned or been seen in over a year. We have to assume the worst."

Tino gingerly put his hand on Eduard's shoulder. "Eduard, is there anything you might know about humans that might put all this to rest?"

Eduard's face softened and Emil wanted to gag. Thank Triton he wasn't betrothed yet. He was not looking forward to it at all.

"Well," Eduard said, "I guess I could look in the Ancient Scrolls, only if you two promise me you won't do anything stupid."

Tino nodded earnestly while Emil just huffed. "Yeah, whatever."

* * *

After what seemed like hours of Eduard pouring over scrolls, Emil started to get restless. He started leasurly swimming around the library, his tail flicking lazily through the water. His mind started to wonder. He remembered the day Lukas left.

_"Brother? Where are you going?" Emil had noticed his brother sneaking out. _

_Lukas turned around. He smiled sadly when he saw the younger merman. "Oh hello, Emil. What are you doing up?" _

_"I saw you leaving. Where are you going?"_

_"I'm going out on a hunt with father. It is my understanding that I must be married in a few years." _

_Emil nodded. Mermen went on hunts to find the best shells and treasures to give to your betrothed. Emil didn't really like the idea of mating. He liked to be free and he knew his brother did too. _

_"Brother?"_

_"Yes Emil?_

_"Is it possible to, I don't know, maybe, _choose_ our mates?" _

_Lukas paused briefly in his preparations. He looked towards his younger brother. "Maybe one day we can," he shook his head, "but that day might not come for many years." _

_Emil sulked on his brother's bed. "I was afraid of that answer." _

_Lukas chuckled. "I'm sure your mate won't be that bad." _

_"But I don't want a mate!" _

_"I know you don't, I don't either, but we don't have much say in the matter." _

_Emil continued to pout. Lukas hugged him and whispered in his ear, "I'll be back before you know it, little brother." _

_Emil squeezed back. "You better."_

Emil smile at the fond memory. Then, of course, someone had to ruin it.

"I found something!" Eduard called out to him.

Emil snapped back to reality. He saw Tino already looking over Eduard's shoulder. Emil swam over to see what was so important.

Eduard pointed to a part of the scroll. "It says here that merfolk on the surface can be come human. Their tails dry up and are replaced by human legs."

Emil rolled his eyes. "We knew that already."

Eduard shot a glare over his shoulder. "You didn't let me finish. When, your legs get submerged in water, your tail starts to reappear. It disappears when they are dry again."

"So, is there is a possibility that Lukas might be alive?" Tino asked.

Eduard skimmed the scroll again. "I don't see anything that would say otherwise."

"That's all I need to know," Emil said as he started to swim away.

"Oh no," Tino muttered.

"What is it?" Eduard asked.

"That's Emil's determined face. I'll go after him before he does something he'll regret," Tino started to swim after his cousin.

"What a brat," Eduard muttered under his breath. "He better not get Tino into trouble."

* * *

When Tino finally caught up to his cousin, he was nearly out of breath. "Emil, what are you–" he stopped short when he saw Emil packing. "Where do you think you're going?"

Emil never looked up or stopped what he was doing. "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm going to find my brother."

"Emil–"

"No! I don't care what any of you say! I am sick and tired of people telling what to do! I'm going to find him whether you like it or not! Now, are you coming or what?"

"What?"

Emil shot a glance at his cousin. "I said, are you coming?"

"Eduard told me that I shouldn't."

'Oh, that's a valid reason to do anything,' Emil thought bitterly. 'Stupid betrothals.' One thing Emil didn't like about arranged marriages was the possessiveness and controlling nature of some merfolk over their mates and that their partners just kind of went with it. Like it or not, Tino was one of those merfolk who just went with it. Emil met pretty much all of his potential mates, and really didn't like any of them.

He rolled his eyes at his cousin. "No, he said not to do anything stupid, and I don't think finding my brother is stupid."

Tino sighed. "You're going with or without me, aren't you?"

Emil nodded. "Yup."

"Well, I'm coming too, then. To keep an eye on you. You have a knack for causing trouble."

"Yeah, sure. Whatever floats your boat."

Tino tilted his head. "Whatever floats my _what_?"

Emil shrugged. "It was a phrase I read in one of Lukas's weird scroll things." He slung the sack over his shoulder. "Coming? Last chance to back out and go back to your _mate_." He spat out that word like a curse.

Tino huffed. "Let's just go before I change my mind."

* * *

**AN: I hope this chapter was better than the last one. And a special thanks Silverwind10123 for all of your wonderful tips and suggestions. Now, this won't be updated for awhile as I am going on vacation before school starts, but I will be sure to update as soon as I can. Favorites, follows, and reviews give me life. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own hetalia. **


	4. Chapter 3

Lukas stared out over the water. What a crazy two years it had been. He couldn't believe how simple the transition from merman to human. Mathias and Berwald had been extremely patient with him. They were also rather protective of him, which he was thankful for and a bit annoyed by. Mathias downright to let Lukas on his own two legs until he knew he could handle it. That's how he ended up moving into the brothers' two-story beach house. It was a charming kind of quaint, with cream walls and pale blue trim. The wooden furniture was all handcarved, most of it by Berwald himself. The house smelled like those danishes Mathias loved to bake. What Lukas loved most was the view from the balcony. The only thing he could see was endless ocean and rocky shoreline. Lukas took in a deep breath of ocean air and smiled contentedly. This was the life.

He felt two strong arms encircle his waist and a head rested on his shoulder. "Hey Lukas."

"Hello Mathias. I didn't hear you come out."

The danish man nuzzled his cheek. "That's because I'm ninja, babe. What do you want to do tomorrow?"

"What did you have in mind?" Lukas tried to ignore the flutter in his chest that happened whenever Mathias was close.

"Well, I was thinking since Berwald is busy with his classes and I've been dying to get you in the kitchen again, maybe we could make something together and eat it out here while we watch the sunset."

Lukas turned so he and Mathias were chest to chest. He wrapped his arms around his neck. "That sounds wonderful."

"Would you be up for a midnight swim as well? I knew your fish parts need to breathe," Mathias smirked.

Lukas punched his arm lightly. "You know I can't go into the ocean. I'd go out to far and... I'll be seen for sure. And stop calling my tail 'fish parts.'"

"Relax, babe. I was talking about the saltwater pool that came with the house. It's perfect for a swim with my mermaid boyfriend~"

Lukas rolled his eyes at the blond's antics. Yes, Mathias knew he was a merman. Berwald did too. Lukas allowed himself to slip into the memory.

* * *

_Lukas had been relaxing in the bathtub, part of his tail hanging out of it, when the door suddenly burst open. _

_"Hey Luke! I got a great idea for–" The taller man stared at the tail for a good long moment before promptly passing out. _

_"Mathias!" _

_It was that moment that Berwald came up to investigate. He looked at. Lukas than his brother on the floor and than back to Lukas. He tossed Lukas, who had pulled himself out of the tub, a towel. "H're. I'll take care of 'im. Dry off, then we'll talk. A'righ'?" _

_Lukas nodded and started to dry off as Berwald dragged his brother downstairs. Lukas quickly got dressed and raced down the stairs. Berwald was proping Mathias, who was still passed out, up in a chair. Berwald looked over towards Lukas. "Th't_ was fast."

_Lukas subconsciously fiddled with the hem of his shirt. "I've had a lot of practice over the last month." _

_"So it wou'd seem." _

_"You probably want me to explain..." _

_The Swede nodded. "Th't wou'd be nice." _

_"W-Well as you know, I-I'm a merman. I come from the Kingdom of the Atlantic, along the Nordic Shelf. I live in a small village on the outskirts of the kingdom. I live with my mother, my father, and my little brother, Emil. I-I—" I'm betrothed. No, no, this is a new start. I don't have to get married. "And that's about it, really. You probably think I'm crazy." _

_"Nah, I beli've yah." _

_Lukas's head snapped up. "You do?" _

_"I liv' with Mathias. I've seen an' heard weirder." _

_The more Lukas thought about it, the more it made sense. _

_Mathias regain conscienceness a few moments later. "Wha-what's going on?" He took a glance at Lukas. "I'm not crazy, right? You don't have fish parts, I'm just seeing things?" _

_"I'm sorry, fish parts? It's called a tail!" _

_"So, I'm not hallucinating?" _

_Lukas still looked peeved about having his tail called "fish parts," so Berwald answered for him. "Nej, yer not." _

_"Oh, oh, okay. Glad to know I'm not crazy." _

_"That's debatable." _

_"Heeeeeyyy!"_

* * *

After that, it was just kind of accepted.

Lukas gave his companion a small smile. "That sounds wonderful."

Mathias's smile grew. "I knew you'd love it!" His hands settled on the merman's waist and gently touched foreheads. Lukas wasn't a big fan of a whole lot of touching, but he did enjoy the little touches when they were alone. "Tell me, Luke, what did I ever do to deserve you?"

"I'm still trying to figure that out."

"Hey!"

"Kidding, kidding. You know I love you." He was taught to hate those three words as a child, but, in truth, love gas brought him nothing but joy.

"I love you too." Mathias kissed Lukas's cheek before meeting his lips.

Lukas broke off the kiss and allowed himself to be cuddled by the taller man. As they watched the sun set, Lukas only had one thing on his mind. _This is the life._

* * *

**AN: Wow, this came out waayyy later than I wanted it to, but better late than never! I hope it met everyone's expectations. So, anyway, I thought it would be nice to check up on Lukas and see how he's doing. He and Mathias are dating. I hope this chapter makes sense. Don't worry, Emil and Tino will be back next chapter. A special thanks to all those who faved, followed, and reviewed. **

**To all those who are reading my other story, Never Looking Back, the next chapter should be out soon. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia. **


	5. Chapter 4

Emil couldn't help but feel excited. They were actually going to shore! He had never been beyond the kelp forests at home and after Lukas disappeared he was confined to the house.

"Uh, Emil? Are you sure we won't get into trouble?" Trust Tino to always be worrying about something.

"Yes."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I'm sure we'll get into all sorts of trouble."

"That's what I was afraid of," Tino grumbled.

"You can't tell me that some part of you that isn't at least a little bit excited."

"Well..."

"Tino, where's your sense of adventure?"

Tino crossed his arms. "I've been frequently told I don't have any."

"By who?"

"By you."

Emil blushed slightly. "Oh, right. Sorry."

Tino huffed. "Let's just get to the surface before I regret this anymore than I already do."

Emil smiled. "There's your sense of adventure. I knew it was buried somewhere deep, deep, deep, deep, very extremely deep down!"

Tino looked up at the water above them. "Emil, look at that," he pointed to where the water looked more clear than blue and it looked really strange, like it was a mosaic.

Emil swam ahead and reached out to touch it. His fingers went right through it. He turned to his cousin, a huge grin on his face. "We're here, Tino." With that, Emil broke the surface and took in his first breath of air. Tino wasn't far behind.

"We did it."

"Don't sound so surprised."

Tino started to laugh but his features quickly warped into horror. "Emil! Look out!"

Emil didn't have a enough time to respond before his cousin pulled him away from the strange object speeding past them. They both instinctively covered their faces from the splashing water.

The strange object slowed to a stop and went over near them. A boy peered over the side, a slightly interested look on his face. He had dark brown eyes and black hair that framed his face. Two older guys looked over the side as well. One had glasses and the other's black hair was in a very strange style. Emil had never seen anyone like them.

"You, like, almost ran into our boat," said the boy.

"Leon!" cried a guy with glasses while the other person's eyes widened.

Leon ignored them. "You're lucky Kiku was driving. If Yao was here, he'd probably have run you over."

The guy with glasses face-palmed. "I apologize for my brother being so blunt. Oh! We're being rude! I'm Cheng. This is Kiku and Leon." Kiku bowed respectfully.

Tino smiled. He loved meeting new people, something that didn't happen often in the small village they lived in. "It's nice to meet you! My name is Tino and this is my cousin Emil."

"Hey," Emil gave a small wave.

"So," Cheng began. "Are you lost? Do you need a lift back to shore?"

"A lift?" Emil asked. He never heard that expression before.

"Yeah, you know, like a ride back," Leon clarified.

Tino and Emil exchanged confused looked. How could you ride something that wasn't alive? Unless... Tino reached out to touch the boat. He felt it vibrate underneath his fingertips. He pulled back in alarm. "It is alive!"

Emil's eyes widened as he backed up a little bit. Cheng, Kiku, and Leon exchanged glances. Are these guys for real?

"No, Tino was it?, it's not alive," Cheng explained patiently. "Listen, do you need someone to take you to shore? It's a pretty long swim."

Emil nodded earnestly. "Yes, I need to find my brother."

"Then come on up. Ladder's around back."

Tino tilted his head. "Ladder?"

"Umm, it's, like, the thing you climb up?" Leon pointed to the set of metal poles with smaller poles across it. "We'll set some towels out for you."

Emil opted to skip the ladder and use the poles to help pull him up so he could sit on the edge. Tino followed his lead. Kiku walked over toward them. "I have your towels..." he trailed off when he saw the tails on the young mermen. Cheng gasped while Leon's eyes widened.

Tino, of course, automatically jumped to the worst case senerio. "We can explain!" He said quickly. "Please don't kill us!"

"Kill you? Why would we do that?" Kiku asked.

Tino looked down at his tail. He didn't have an answer for that.

Cheng took a quick look around. "Here let's you on board before anyone sees you two. Kiku, help me with Tino. Leon, can you handle Emil?"

Leon looked over Emil. "Yeah, I'll be fine." He draped a towel around Emil's tail and picked him up bridal style. Leon smirked when Emil instinctively wrapped his arms around his neck. "You know, you're kinda cute."

Emil felt his face heat up. "I'm what?"

"Cute. I said you're cute." Leon put Emil down on one of the seats. "Don't worry, that's a good thing."

"We're not that far from shore," said Cheng. "Should take about ten minutes."

Tino nodded. "Okay."

Emil suddenly felt his stomach start to churn and his tail started to tingle. He looked down to see what was wrong. He was surprised to see his beautiful violet scales fade into pale skin. His tail slowly spit into two slim human legs. Emil turned to his cousin. Tino was curiously poking the skin where his turquoise scales once were.

"So, who were you— hey, where'd your tail go?" Leon asked.

"Our tails dry up when we go on land or when we're dry. They turn into these thing." Tino explained and wiggled his legs to his point. His towel came loose in the process. Cheng's face went bright red and quickly looked away. Kiku, on the other hand, looked quite intrigued.

"We'll have to get them some clothes."

Tino blushed and fixed his towel.

"So," Cheng interrupted. "You said you were looking for someone?"

Emil nodded. "Yes, my brother Lukas."

Cheng raised an eyebrow. "Bondevik?"

"I just said his name was Lukas."

"No, no, Bondevik's his last name."

"What's that?" Tino chimed in. As far as they knew, merfolk didn't use "last names."

"It's a like a second name."

Emil crossed his arms. "Why would need two names? Don't you people know who you are?"

"Are we really talking about the history of last names right now?" Leon interrupted.

"Hai, we should be focused on getting to shore and finding your brother, Emil," Kiku spoke up.

"Could you describe Lukas for us?" Tino said before his cousin managed to get a negative word in.

"Blond hair, blue eyes, wears that cross pin, plays the violin, anything sound familiar?"

"Just blond hair and blue eyes."

"What's a violin?" Emil asked.

"That's, like, not important right now."

"Well, it looks like we're here," Cheng gestured to the rocky shoreline the seemed it go on for miles.

Kiku turned to the two mermen. "You two will probably need help walking."

Tino blushed and nodded.

"You'll probably get the hang of it rather quickly. The real challenge will be keeping your balance and the effects of gravity," Cheng explained.

Leon winced. "Oh crap, we didn't think about gravity." He snapped his fingers as a sudden thought came to him. And wait a sec, there's something else we need." He went over one of the bins and started digging through it. He smirked when he found what he was looking for. "Bingo," he said pulling out several pairs of sandals. "Let's see how these fit you guys."

"Excellent thinking, Leon," said Cheng as he took a couple pairs from him.

Leon smirked. "Yeah, I know I'm a genius."

That gave Kiku an idea. He started digging around some of the other bins. "I'm sure the others must have left some clothes on here... Aha!" He pulled out two flannel shirts and a couple pairs of shirts. "These are some of are brother's. They should be sufficient until we get you better clothes. See if these fit."

"I can't thank you enough," Tino said as Cheng helped him into a shirt.

"It's the least we can do. We did almost run you over," Cheng explained.

Once the two mermen were properly clothed, Kiku and Leon helped them to stand. Emil caught on to walking fairly quickly, only stumbling a little bit. Tino, on the other hand had some serious trouble. He simply could not stand on his legs without them wobbling out of control. Cheng and Kiku had to help hold him up.

"The boardwalk isn't far from here," Cheng said. "We can walk so you two get practice. There's also places to get clothes and food."

"Good. I'm starving," Leon said.

Kiku rolled his eyes. "You ate three hours ago."

"So? I'm hungry."

Cheng sighed. "We can get food on shore. Try to behave until them."

Leon huffed. "Yeah whatever." He turned to Emil. "Think you can walk on your own?"

Emil hesitantly nodded. "Yes, I think so."

Tino nervously raised his hand. "I think I'll need help."

Kiku nodded. "Cheng and I will help you until you get the hang of it."

Tino nodded. "Thank you."

Kiku and Cheng then helped Tino to stand once again and stabilize him while Leon only need to help Emil stand.

As they were taken off of the strange un-alive thing, Emil looked back at the ocean. He told himself he wouldn't return home without his brother, yet another part of him told him that he belonged in the ocean. Emil shook away those thoughts. He had to find him, he had to. He had come this far. With a renewed sense if determination, Emil walked onto shore and into land, the ocean far behind him.

* * *

**AN: This chapter took a lot longer to write than I had hoped. My writer's block defiantly didn't help, but all of your reviews helped to inspire me faster. I hope to make updates more frequent in the future.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.**


	6. Chapter 5

Emil had never really thought about what the human world would look like, and, honestly, he never really cared. But as he looked at it now, it was beautiful. "Wow," he whispered.

Leon turned to him and smirked. "Enjoying the view?" They were walking a few steps ahead of the others.

Emil nodded. "Yeah, it's so different from home."

"What's it like?"

Emil turned towards him. "Huh?"

"I'm showing you my world. Tell me about yours."

"There's not that much to tell."

"Humor me, merman."

Emil brushed a small piece of hair out of his face. "Well, I'm originally from the Nordic Shelf. I think that's off the coast of what you humans call Norway, or was it Iceland? Oh, I can't remember. The Nordic Shelf is apart of the Kingdom of the Atlantic, which pretty much rules over all in merfolk in the Atlantic. I'm from a small village, nothing special. We live close to the palace now, but I've never seen it up close. Lukas and I preferred to explore the kelp forests personally." Emil shrugged. "Nothing really that special."

Leon smiled. "It sounds pretty cool."

Emil blushed. "Not really. It can't compare to this."

Cheng's voice interrupted them. "Here we are. This is Mei's store. We can get you guys some proper clothes."

"Who's Mei?" Emil asked.

"She's our sister," Kiku explained as he helped Tino inside the small store.

A girl with a long black hair with flowers in her hair ran towards them. "Kiku! Cheng! Li! What brings you here? Who're your friends?"

Emil blinked. "Who's Li?"

Leon groaned and raised his hand. "Me. My name is Li Xiao, but I prefer to be called Leon. My siblings just like to bug me."

"Mei, this is Tino and Emil. We found them in the ocean and they need some clothes," Cheng explained.

Mei clapped her hands. "You came to the right place! Let's take a look-see." She looked the mermen up and down. She rubbed her chin thoughtfully then snapped her fingers. "I got just the thing!" She dashed around the store, grabbing articles of clothing as she went. She gave one set to Tino and the other to Emil. "Here, go and see if these fit."

At Emil's confused face, Leon took his hand and led him to the changing room near the back of the store. "Go in there and change. I'll be out here if you need me."

Emil felt his face flush again. He seriously needed to get that blush under control. "O-okay."

After a few minutes of trying to struggling to put on clothing, Emil finally got it. Mei had picked a silver shirt and black jeans for him. He was also give black sneakers with purple designs. He had to admit, it was kinda cozy. He timidly stepped out of the changing room.

Mei's eyes lit up. "Oh, I knew they would fit you! You look great, Emil!"

"Really?"

Everyone nodded. Tino grinned from a small bench he was sitting on. He was wearing a blue polo and khakis with white shoes. "You look nice!"

"Thank you, so do you."

Cheng opened his wallet. "How much do we owe?"

Mei laughed. "Put that away, Cheng. I'm always happy to help. I did the same thing for Mathias a couple years ago when he brought Lukas."

Emil instantly turned around and Tino immediately perked up. "You know Lukas?"

"There's not many people in this town who don't know Lukas Bondevik. He's a bit of a mystery."

"Where could I find him?"

"It kinda hard to say. Mathias would know, you could ask him. He works at the bar down the street. Do you know Lukas?"

"I hope so."

Mei tilted her head. "You hope so?"

"They don't have last names where they're from," Kiku explained. "We don't know if he might've adopted it here."

Mei nodded. "I guess that makes sense. Anyway, Mathias isn't too hard to find. You'll probably hear him before you see him."

The group thanked her and started down the street. Cheng and Kiku walked ahead with Tino, explaining the things he pointed out to them. Leon and Emil walked a couple feet behind them in comfortable silence.

After awhile, Emil spoke up. "So, who's Mathias?"

"Mathias is a pretty cool guy. He's dating Lukas," Leon explained.

"Dating?" What was that? Emil had never heard of it before.

Leon stared at him. "You guys don't date where your from?"

Emil shook his head. "No, we have betrothals."

The Asian shot him a sympathetic look. "Aw, that sucks."

"Like you wouldn't believe. So, what is dating?"

Leon thought about that for awhile. "Dating is... Dating is when you spend time with another person outside your family because you like them."

Emil tilted his head slightly. "I... I don't understand."

"Well, when you like someone a certain way. You spend time with a person who makes you feel special, loved."

"That sounds... really nice."

Leon smiled. "It is. There's no feeling like it."

Emil wondered how he could talk so freely of love. It was hardly spoken of at home but he was told it was a terrible force of nature. "Have you ever been in love, Leon?"

He shook his head. "No, I haven't. Doesn't mean I'm not looking for it though," he replied with a wink.

Emil felt himself blush again. He needed to stop doing that.

Leon focused on something in front of them. "That's it up there."

Emil looked up. "I don't see anything..."

Leon chuckled. "No, I mean it's ahead."

"Oh. I'll never get used to how you land-dwellers speak."

"And I'll never get used to how you merfolk always take things literally." Leon held the door open for him. "After you."

It seemed like a cozy little place. It kinda reminded Emil of an island that he saw once in a scroll. He nudged Leon and pointed to two flags on the flag. "What flags are those?"

"Oh, those are flags of Cuba and America. The owner of this place is Cuban. This is kinda like a tribute to his homeland. But it doesn't look like Carlos here at the moment."

"KIKU! DUDE, HOW ARE YOU?"

"But it seems like Alfred is."

Kiku winced at the loudness of his friend. "Ossu, Alfred-kun. How are you?"

"I'm good! So, what brings you to this neck of the woods?"

"We're looking for Mathias-kun. Is he working today?"

"Oh, dude, sorry, it's his day off. It's only me and Gil today."

"And where is Gilbert?" Cheng asked.

"Kitchen. It's his break."

"I made awesome German food und I'm not sharing!" came a shout from the kitchen.

"He also made food that he's not sharing," Alfred informed. His eyes fixed on Tino and Emil. "Who're your friends?"

"This is Tino and Emil. They're," Cheng paused trying to find the words that wouldn't give them away, "not from around here," he decided. "They're looking for Lukas."

Alfred raised an eyebrow. "Matt's boyfriend?"

Leon rolled his eyes. "Do you know another Lukas?"

Alfred pouted. "Why are you so mean to me?"

"One of us has to and we all know that Kiku's not going to do it."

"That's true. If you're looking for Matt, Berwald should be passing in soon. He usually comes by after his classes."

"I thought he comes by to pick up Matthias. Why would he stop by now?"

Alfred grinned. "It's Matt and Luke's one year. Ber will probably want to stay away as long as he can."

Leon winced. "Forget I said anything."

"Always do."

By this point, Tino had gotten bored with the conversation and started wandering around. He gently ran his fingers over the texture of the wall. It was a lot smoother here than it was back home. His mind started to wonder. He didn't hear his cousin call to him and he certainly didn't hear the door open and close and Alfred shout to the newcomer. As he stared walking away from the wall, he didn't see that walking towards a wet floor sign.

Alfred pulled his attention away form the stranger to call out. "Tino, be careful! I just washed these floors!"

"I'll be fine, I just-oh!" Tino still wasn't exactly used to walking yet and slipped on the floor. He braced himself to hit the floor but he never did. Two strong arms caught him. He looked up to see bright sea-green eyes staring back at him. Tino thought they were a really pretty color, he could get lost in them. Then, the eyes blinked and Tino shook his head and focused on the stranger's face. Tino almost fell out of the stranger's arms. He was very scary!

"Ar' you okej?" the guy asked.

Tino could only blush and nod.

"Berwald, dude, nice catch!" came Alfred's voice from the other side of the room.

Berwald grunted and helped Tino stand up.

Tino couldn't help the blush on his face or the fluttering in his stomach. "Uh, thank you."

Berwald nodded.

Tino made his way over to his cousin. "Why didn't you help me?" he hissed.

Emil shrugged. "Leon said to let you have your moment."

"What?"

"I don't know, I just went with it."

Tino felt his face heat up again.

Cheng pulled Berwald aside to a different part of the bar. "Do you know where Lukas might be?"

Berwald raised an eyebrow at the odd question. "Not off the top if mah head, but I assume he's with Mathias. Why?"

"Does he have a brother?"

"Lukas? He nev'r ment'on'd one."

"We found Emil and Tino in the ocean looking for Emil's brother named Lukas."

"Ya think that he mig't be... Emil's the one with silv'r hair, ja?" Berwald looked over at the two mermen. He noted that Lukas and Emil had a similar facial structure and the same neutral expression. "I can s'e it. Ya want me ta take them ta him? Ta s'e if they're related or not?"

"If it's not that much trouble."

"It's no tr'uble."

Cheng smiled. "Tino! Emil! Come over here for a minute."

"What's going on?"

"This is Berwald Oxenstierna. He's a friend of Lukas's."

Emil immediately brightened. "You know my brother?"

Berwald nodded. "Ja. He liv's with me and Mathias."

"You know Mathias?"

"He's mah brother."

Cheng cleared his throat. "He can take you to them, if you like."

Both mermen looked up at Berwald with hopeful eyes. "Could you really?"

Berwald nodded. "If ya want me ta."

Emil felt himself smile. It felt so weird, he hadn't smiled in so long... "I would really like that."

"But I can't t'night."

Emil's smile immediately disappeared. "What?! Why not?!"

Berwald's face went pink. "Bec'use I don't know what they're doin'."

"What?"

A man with white hair and red eyes emerged from the kitchen, laughing. "You mean good ole Matt's getting lucky? Kesesesesese!"

Kiku paled. "Perhaps they should stay at our house tonight..."

Berwald nodded. "I'll be at Lars's if ya n'ed me."

Cheng nodded. "That would be wise. We'll meet here tomorrow."

Berwald nodded. "Mathias's shift ends at 5:30. That's about the time I'll be here."

"Sounds like a plan."

Emil wasn't happy to have to wait another day, but if it meant he didn't have to see his brother and the other guy "getting lucky", he could wait another day.

* * *

**AN: I planned to have this out a lot sooner, but writer's block prevented me from finishing sooner. If the next chapter takes me this long, feel free to come after me with pitchforks.**

**And I don't know if I mentioned this before, but Cheng is Macao.**

**Ossu is somewhat similar to saying "hey, man!" or "hey, dude!" in English.**

**Toon in next time for Emil to meet his brother... maybe. :{D**


	7. Chapter 6

So far, Emil loved the human world. There were so many new sights, smells, and sounds, and most importantly, a lot of brand new tastes. Leon had smiled when he tried chocolate for the first time. Apparently, he thought Emil's looked ridiculous. The day before was so unreal for Emil. He and Tino actually made it to land. They had broken the surface of the water and so close to finding if this Lukas Bondevik was really his brother or not. He sat up on the edge of the bed in the guest room of Leon's house. Emil stared down at his legs and playfully wiggled them. He couldn't keep the grin from his face. He heard a knock on the door.

"Uh, come in."

Mei poked her head in. "Good morning, Emil. How'd you sleep?"

"I slept fine."

She came in and sat next to him. "That's great! I brought some clothes for you to wear today. Tino's in the kitchen getting breakfast. He told us to let you sleep. Cheng said that he, Kiku, and Li will take you and your cousin to the Boardwalk sometime between noon and one."

Emil tilted his head. "When's that?"

Mei giggled. "Don't worry, it's soon. I think it's about eleven now." She stood up and smoothed her skirt. "I'll leave you to get dressed. Call us if you need anything."

Emil looked down next to him at the clothes Mei had laid out. It was a similar outfit to yesterday's except a white shirt replaced the silver one. Emil sighed. The sooner they found Lukas, the sooner they can go home. Hopefully this Lukas guy in town was his brother.

"Emil, glad you could join us," said Yao as Emil entered the kitchen. Yao was Leon's older brother. They had met last night when Leon introduced him and Tino to the rest of his family. "I hope you're hungry."

Emil nodded. "I am." He looked over at Tino who was passed a cup full of a black liquid by Kiku. Tino made a face. "Is that squid ink?"

Kiku shook his head. "No, Tino-kun, this is tea," he explained patiently.

Tino sipped is cautiously and made a face. "It tastes weird."

Emil couldn't hold back a giggle.

Cheng smiled and stirred his own tea. "We were thinking we'd go to the boardwalk around noon."

"Is that when that bright yellow thing is the highest in the blue thing?" Emil asked.

Cheng nodded. "Yes, the sun in the sky. So we have time to relax and explore."

"Oh that sounds like a lot of fun! Where will we go?" Tino asked.

"Vido Bajo Marina," Leon said. "It's the boardwalk where Mei's store is. You remember, right?"

Emil nodded. "Of course I do."

"It's where Havana Lounge is also," Kiku cut in. "That's where Mathias works and that's where we'll meet up with him later."

"That's where we went yesterday, right?" Tino asked.

Leon nodded. "And I'll be your guide for today. Kiku has school and Cheng and Mei have to go to work."

"Where's the rest of your family?" Emil asked. "You said you had more."

"They are visiting family. They'll be back soon, tomorrow, I think," Cheng said.

Leon looked at the clock. "Speaking of which, we should probably get going. It'll take us a while to walk there."

* * *

They had only been at the Boardwalk for five minutes and Tino already had walked off. To be fair, Tino couldn't help but wander off. There were so many new and exciting things to see! He wasn't really naturally curious but he was here now and he wanted to see as much of this world as he possibly could before they went back. Tino frowned at the thought. They would be going back right? That was the plan? Find Lukas and convince him to come home with them? Something in his gut told him it was going to be that easy. He was so lost in thought that he wasn't watching where he was going and bumped into someone. Tino, still not being used on his legs, fell and actually hit the ground this time. Not one of the most pleasant experiences he'd ever come across.

"You okay?" asked a voice.

Tino looked up to see a hand outstretched to him. He took it and stood up. "Yes, I'm fine. I just lost my balance."

"No kidding." Tino got a better look at the blond man who was about his height with serious-looking green eyes. He had some sort of stick-thing strapped to his back. "I'm Vash, by the way."

"Tino."

"Tino, huh? You don't look familiar... are you from around here?"

Tino shook his head. "No, I'm just visiting." He pointed to the thing slung across Vash's back. "What's that?"

Vash unslung it from his back and held it out in front of him. "This old thing? It's the K13. It was the standard rifle of the Swiss armed forces used from 1933 until 1958. It's a magazine-fed, straight-pull bolt-action rifle," his neutral expression didn't change. "It's okay, I guess."

Tino looked at it in wonder. He had no idea what that thing was, but it sounded pretty cool. "How does it work?"

"I'm actually on my way to open up the range now. It's technically closed today but I have the keys. I co-own the place. If you want, you can come and I'll show you. Maybe you can fire a couple off."

Tino nodded. He didn't know exactly what that was or how it worked but he did like learning new things. "I'd like that."

It wasn't too far. It was at the end of what Kiku called the Boardwalk.

It was an indoor range. It had a closed front and many different kinda of firearms lined the walls inside. Tino lightly touched the glass separating him from them. "What is all this stuff?"

"What you're looking at right now is a case of early American rifles. They're considered antiques but they still fire pretty well."

"How do they work?"

Vash grinned, as he took the gun off his back. "I'll show you."

He walked up to the half-wall and put on safety goggles and earplugs. He hoisted the rifle and fired off a round. Tino covered his ears. He'd never heard anything so loud in his life! Suddenly, it stopped. Vash put down his rifle and turned to him. "That's how it's done."

Tino was amazed. "Can I try?" he asked.

Vash looked him up and down to see if he could be trusted with one. "Pick what you want to try out."

Tino looked around until his eyes landed on one. He pointed to it. "That one."

Vash looked at it and opened the case. "Sako TRG 22. It's a Finnish sniper rifle. It might be easier to for you to fire when you're lying down on your stomach."

Tino put on the glasses and earplugs Vash had handed him and Vash showed him how to hold it.

"What you want to do," he advised, "is to try to line up the center of the eyepiece with the center of the target."

"Got it," Tino murmured as he lined it up. _So all I have to do is line up the two dots and pull the trigger? This seems simple enough,_ he thought. He fired until the magazine ran out, then put the safety on and stood up. He turned and faced Vash, who had a shocked look on his face. Tino suddenly felt self-conscious. Did I really do that bad? he thought. I mean, I didn't expect to be good, I just... Tino cleared his throat. "Um, how'd I do?"

"I've never seen anyone do that before..." Vash muttered.

"Um, Vash?"

Vash shook his head, trying to clearing his head. "I'm sorry, Tino, just got in thought. This was your first time with that right?"

Tino shuffled his feet. "First time with any firearm, actually."

"You're a natural!"

Tino beamed. "Really?"

Vash nodded. "Wait a minute, I'll get your target and show you." No one else was there, so it was safe for Vash to go down and retrieve the paper target. "Look, all in the center." Sure enough, all the hole in the target were in the center.

"That's good?"

"Extremely good. You've got quite the aim."

Tino felt his smile widen. It felt so good to be great at something! He didn't have a particular skill set at home, which was one of the reasons his father was marrying him off early. He had to show Emil. Wait...where was Emil? Tino smacked himself in the forehead. He wandered off without Emil!

"Tino, are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine! I just realized that I wandered off without my cousin."

"Who's your cousin?"

"His name is Emil."

"He doesn't sound familiar."

"Well, we aren't exactly from around here. We came looking for his brother Lukas."

Vash blinked. "Lukas Bondevik?"

Tino sighed. "Apparently so."

"Have you tried Havana Lounge? Mathias works there. It's at the opposite end of the strip."

"Havana Lounge... wait what time it?! I'm supposed to be there at five thirty!"

"It's three thirty now. It'll take an hour if you walk and not get distracted. Not to sound rude or anything, but you seem like the type to be easily distracted."

Tino scratched his neck sheepishly. "Sorry. I'm new to this whole thing."

"It's fine. Listen, I can walk with you halfway. My sister works at Florida Style."

Tino's eyes lit up. "That's Mei's store!"

"You know Mei?"

"Yes, her brothers pulled my cousin and I out of the ocean. We got clothes from her store."

"That's... actually not the weirdest thing I ever heard."

Tino tilted his head in confusion. "It's not?"

"You don't know my extended family. Trust me, they're a handful."

Tino decided not to ask what that meant. Luckily, he didn't have to. Vash carefully placed the guns back in their respective cases and turned to him.

"Well," there was an awkward pause. "Are you coming or what?"

Tino gathered his thoughts. "Yup!"

Vash ushered him out and locked the door behind him.

They almost walked the entire way to the store in complete silence. Tino took a deep breath before saying, "So, how long have you been shooting?"

"My whole life. My dad taught me when I was five. He said if anything happened to him and my mother, I would need to protect my sister. I don't hunt or anything, just target practice."

That was about the most emotion the guy had shown all day.

Vash continued. "The thing I value most is peace and I'm willing to fight for it." He blinked and turned to Tino. "Why'd I just tell you that?"

Tino shrugged. "I'm just easy to talk to, I guess."

Vash made a noise of affirmation. "I guess so."

They walked the rest of the way in peaceful silence. There was a small girl with a purple ribbon in her blonde hair standing outside the store. Her eyes lit up when she saw Vash.

She waved at him. "Brother!"

"Hello, Lili. Are you ready to go?"

She nodded and turned her eyes toward Tino. "Who is your friend?

Tino smiled at her. "My name is Tino. I'm new here."

Lili smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Tino!"

"It is very nice to meet you too!"

Vash put his hand on his sister's shoulder. "Come, Lili, we'll be late."

"Okay big brother. I'll see you tomorrow, Mr. Tino!" She waved as her brother led her away.

Tino waved and smiled. "What a nice girl," he mused.

"TINO!"

He turned to see Emil and Leon running toward him.

"Where were you? I thought I'd lost you too!" Emil said angrily, though his voice had a slight quiver.

"No, no, I'll never leave you. I'll always find you again," Tino said, with a kind smile. He knew Emil couldn't bear to lose him after he had lost Lukas.

Emil huffed. "Don't do that again."

"I won't, promise."

Leon coughed. "Hate to break up this heartwarming moment, but we should be getting to the lounge soon."

"Is it that time already?" Tino questioned.

Leon nodded. "Come on." Tino started to follow but stopped when he noticed Emil wasn't next to him.

"Emil, what's wrong?"

"What if its not him?"

Tino offered his cousin a small smile. "Then, we keep looking and we won't stop until we find him."

"Thanks Tino."

Tino's smile grew brighter. "That's what family's for."

Leon coughed. "Hate to interrupt, but we should get going."

"Is it that time already?"

Leon nodded. "Its time."

* * *

The first thing Emil saw in the bar was Berwald. He saw him talking to a guy behind the bar with blond hair that seemed to defy gravity. Berwald saw them and waved them over. The blond guy looked over and smiled at the group. "Hey! You guys must be Emil and Tino. I'm Mathias."

Emil didn't know what to say except, "You're really loud."

Mathias burst out laughing. "I can see how you're related to Luke now! He's always telling me that! He also says I need to shut up a lot."

Berwald rolled his eyes. "That's b'caus' you're always talkin'."

"So? I like to talk! It's how I communicate with people."

"It's how ev'ryone com'un'cates."

Mathias grinned wider. "See why I like it so much!'

Berwald facepalmed at his brother's antics. "I swear yer adopted."

"Love you too, bror!"

Berwald sighed. "Let's just go b'fore I get a he'dache."

"Way ahead off you. Carlos! I'm clockin' out early today!" Mathias called into the kitchen.

"Remember you're working the early shift tomorrow, Køhler!" came a voice from inside the kitchen.

"You got it boss! I'll be here bright and early!" he turned towards his brother and the two mermen. "Let's go home."

They walked over to a red pickup truck in a nearby lot. Emil stared at it. It was different from the other vehicles he'd seen. "What's that?"

Mathias patted the hood. "This, my friend, is a pickup truck. It's a quicker way to get from place to place. Good thing too, we don't live within walking distance." He opened to door. "Hop in."

Both mermen stared at him in confusion. Berwald gently nudged them towards it. "It's kinda like the boat Cheng and Kiku found ya on, 'cept it has wheels." That calmed them down enough to get inside.

Emil fiddled with the seatbelt. He didn't like this awkward silence. He cleared his throat. "Where'd you find him? Lukas, I mean."

"Hm? Oh, Ber and I found him tangled in some fishnets on the beach. I figured he was shipwrecked or something," Mathias answered.

"How is he? It's been awhile since I've seen him."

Mathias ran his fingers through his hair. "He's good. He's been taking classes at the community college near here and he's picked up the violin."

"What is a violin? I asked Leon earlier but we had to get to shore."

"It's a musical instrument. Ber, pull up a picture on your phone."

Berwald pulled a small device from his pocket. He tapped it a couple times before turning around in his seat. "This is what it looks like."

"How does it work?"

"You pull the bow across the strings to make music." Mathias explained. "I'm sure Lukas can show you. He's really good."

"He's better than 'really good.'" Berwald added. "He's Alexander Rybak good."

"Who's that?" Tino whispered to Emil.

"How should I know?" he whispered back.

"But anyway," Mathias continued, "we're almost there."

Emil looked at the window. The were a bunch of buildings along the rocky shoreline. He stared wistfully at the waves crashing on the sand. He had the sudden urge to jump to the ocean. Emil tugged on the handle of the door and the door wouldn't open. That snapped Emil out of his daze. "Huh?"

"Door's locked, Em," Mathias said from the front seat.

Emil blinked. "My name's Emil."

"Lukas tried that one time. He almost fell out. We learned to keep the doors locked."

"Where is Lukas?"

"He's at our place. Speaking of which, we are here." Mathias pulled into the driveway. The house was two-stories with a pale blue exterior. It seemed very homey.

Berwald got out and opened the door for Tino. "Don't need ya ta fall," he said as he offered Tino his hand.

Tino felt his cheeks get hot. "Thank you."

Berwald grunted and nodded in response.

Mathias opened the door for Emil who jumped out. Mathias smiled at the younger boy. "You're excited, huh?"

Emil nodded and ran to the door and tried to open it. "It won't open!"

Mathias and Berwald were both making sure Tino didn't fall while walking up the driveway. "I've got the key. We'll be up there in a second."

Mathias never got to the door before it opened. A soft clicking sound startled Emil and he turned around as the door opened.

"Honestly, Mathias, did you forget your keys again?" the man who opened the door had blue eyes and blond hair with a wayward curl. He gasped and froze when he saw Emil. "Oh my gosh..."

Emil was sure he looked equally as shocked, even though he was mentally preparing himself for this all day. "I finally found you."

Lukas smiled softly, a small tear falling from the corner of his eye. "I can't tell you how glad I am to see you again, little brother."

* * *

**AN: OH MY GLOB THIS TOOK FOREVER TO GET OUT AND I'M SO SORRY I DIDN'T GET IT OUT SOONER! Writers block was a bitch. Like, I had chunks of it but it was the transitions that were killing me. I promise it won't take almost a year to get the next chapter out. It should be easier to write now that Lukas is on the scene. I don't own Hetalia. **


End file.
